When Death Comes Calling
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Sandra J. Yorong’s new book, Lifetime Medical Organizer, should be the talk of the town after its release this week. That is, it should be a conversation piece in every family.
But a new national survey tells us that we’re not talking the talk when it comes to families - particularly seniors and their adult children -discussing critical life issues related to aging, health and financial security.
This is especially true about health-related issues. We’re either in denial that a crisis could happen at any time or we’re just waiting for someone to start the conversation!
Yorong’s newly published book could be that conversation starter. But don’t wait for a health crisis to begin the process. It’s best discussed when all parties are calm and rational about life decisions.
Yorong created Lifetime Medical Organizer based on personal experience during a medical crisis with her father, Pedro Larot Yorong.
“In January 2007, my father died of lung cancer at the age of 82,” Yorong writes. “At the time of his diagnosis, his doctor told him he had between four and six months to live. Unfortunately, that was not the case. He passed away only three short months later. As one can imagine, my family struggled with a tidal wave of emotions during these months.”
Narratives such as this start each chapter of the 90-page book. Yorong’s personal story provides powerful and heartfelt accounts of why hope is not enough when dealing with a medical situation.
The Lifetime Medical Organizer is a tool to help navigate through the emotional and intellectual mire of care-giving. The simple guide to organizing matters of life and health includes how-to instructions and forms to aid the process.
“During that short period of three months, my family was confronted with many issues and concerns about how to manage my father’s care and approaching death,” the author recalls. “We had not dealt with anything like this before, and there was much to manage with my father’s appointments, medications, eating habits, legal affairs, medical bills and other related matters.
“My siblings and I were challenged with managing the logistics and concerns of everyone involved, but most importantly we had to balance the respect we had for our parents and the decisions that only they could ultimately make,” she adds.
The medical organizer provided her family with peace of mind during a difficult time. It is her hope that it will do the same for others.
Yorong created the organizer after searching bookstores and the Internet to find something helpful. She found products that were very expensive and too complex.
“It seemed they were created by medical people,” she says. “I liken it to baking a cake with ingredients but no recipe.”
The organizer also serves as a communications tool among family, friends, health-care providers and others.
“Most people have what I call a ‘chop suey’ approach to managing important information,” the author states. “Their legal documents are tucked away in a safe deposit box at the bank. Medicine is in a cabinet or on a counter-top. Financial, insurance and personable data are stored in a computer.”
Imagine the problems you create for loved ones when they have to find this information. The biggest mistake we make is taking for granted that someone will have this information available when we need it most.
Yorong deals with this every day as a financial adviser and former trust officer and investment portfolio manager with 15 years of experience in the financial industry.
“When communications is not managed effectively, lack of communications can lead to assumptions, stir all sorts of conflicts and create doubt,” Yorong says.
Now, thanks to Yorong’s organized mind and compassionate nature, she’s made it easier for all of us.
Co-author Richard Schuttler, Ph.D., encouraged Yorong to write the book and guided her through a self-publishing process. A book launch reception at Waialae Country Club this past Sunday was a benefit for Child and Family Services and Aloha Medical Mission.
Early response to the book has been positive. One company bought 1,000 books to give employees.
A reader reports, “I wish I had something like this when my late mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer at age 83. It was a nightmare for her to try to remember a lifetime of medical procedures. And then to keep repeating it over and over again as she moved through her round of appointments and involvement with the many specialized branches of the health-care system. If we had it all written down in one place, we could have saved many hours and much frustration.”
‘Lifetime Medical Organizer’ is sold at retail bookstores and online at Amazon.com and www.lifemedorganizer.com. Meet the author at a book signing at Barnes and Noble, Ala Moana Center, Saturday, June 7, at 11 a.m.
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